Polzeath

Polzeath has a sandy beach and is popular with holiday-makers and surfers. The beach is 1,500 feet (460 m) wide and extends 1,200 feet (370 m) from the seafront at low water; however, most of the sand is submerged at high water. At exceptionally high spring tides the sea floods the car park at the top of the beach. Polzeath beach is patrolled by lifeguards during the summer and is described on the RNLI website as : ... a wide, flat beach with some shelter from winds, it sees good quality surf and is quite often extremely crowded. Dolphins may sometimes be spotted in the bay and the coastline north of Polzeath is a good area for seeing many types of birds including corn buntings and puffins. The main street runs along the seafront and has a parade of shops catering for holidaymakers and residents. There are pubs, cafés, restaurants, a caravan site and several camping sites in the immediate area. The road rises up steep hills at both ends of the seafront; towards the village of Trebetherick to the southwest and New Polzeath to the northeast.